Tools – The Carmel Twist

What twist do you put on standard drills that make them your own? Our recent visit to Carmel Swim Club showed us some cool, simple ideas, that do just that.

Why do it:
Creating a unique setting is part of setting up a culture. Your own language, your own tools, and your own training methods and pride. Carmel does a great job of this, from top to bottom. Here’s a bit of their home brewed culture.

How to do it:1 – We’ll start with the sponge. Rather than creating resistance using parachutes, Carmel using simple sponges tied to the waist of the swimmers.2 – Use these heavy sponges to create added resistance to train the catch or the kick.3 – Also have the swimmers practice explosive underwater dolphins and breakouts to increase their effectiveness.4 – Instead of the bottle on head backstroke drill, Carmel uses some stray lane-line donuts and whiffle balls.5 – Place this combination on the forehead, and keep the tools connected and stabile while swimming backstroke.6 – This steady head drill is a staple, but their twist makes it their own.

How to do it really well (the fine points):
Keep building… from push-off markers tied to the lane lines, all the way to constructing your own power pulley systems, Carmel does a great job of putting their twist on just about everything… which makes it their own… and adds to the closeness of the team.